Oran Knight is out (1/2 chapters for today)
Lux, Revealed Once Again (4): Lux’s Turn
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“Now, Lux, are you ready?” (Rita)
The unusual turn of events was about the duel between me and Lamie-senpai. I answered “Yes” briefly to Rita-san’s question.
“Then, let’s begin!” (Rita)
At Rita-san’s command, the four moving targets (enemies) started running, and I aimed at the stationary target that had been set up earlier.
*Tum*
Unlike Lamie-senpai’s gunshot, a light and crisp sound echoed, and I hit the target already painted with Lamie-senpai’s color, painting it with a new color. I continued shooting one after another. Then the next. From what I could see from behind, Lamie-senpai had hit all the stationary targets.
I had no intention of missing. For us, this was just a warm-up. The real issue was the moving targets (enemies). After shooting the last stationary target, the sixth one, it was finally the real competition.
From the gunshot of my sixth shot, after a brief pause, two shots from a distant place on both sides of the main street, and then two shots from a bit closer, in the order of far, near, near, far.
*Bang*, *bang*,, *bang*,,,,, *bang*, the shots rang out. (TLN: Multiple comas here represent delay in shooting sound, it’s not typo.)
It wasn’t planned, but it was the same kind of arrangement as Lamie-senpai’s earlier. This was as expected. Because if it was skewed to one side or if the positions are similar in distance, it became easier to aim.
Since there’s a rule that you must show your face when firing a blank shot, the common tactic for the moving targets (enemies) is to spread out in far and near, left and right, to make it difficult to aim.
I took a small, deep breath, considered this place as a hunting ground, and imagined the moving targets (enemies) as prey. The sounds were from the corner of the right alley and the window of the building further inside. On the left were the building in front and the roof of the building further inside.
Of course, the moving targets (enemies) didn’t need to stay still, so I had to consider the possibility of them moving. In that case, moving targets (enemies) inside buildings or on rooftops were easier to aim at than those on the ground. At this stage, the moving targets (enemies) in the right alley were excluded from the aim. So, it seemed more efficient to target the two inside the left-side building, but earlier, Bianca was in the back of the right side.
I felt sorry for Bianca, but among this group, her technical skills seemed like a bonus character. As I was thinking that, again, *bang*, *bang*,, *bang*,,,,, *bang*, the second set of four blank shots. There was some vertical movement, but no significant change from the previous positions.
I aimed my gun at the moving target (enemy) hiding in the right rear building and looked through the scope. With the third blank shot, I pulled the trigger. Miss.
I adjust my aim to the right rear again, and in the meantime, I searched for any signs of someone appearing from the left building. Sensing the real target might move, I smoothly shift the gun to the location I had anticipated and pull the trigger without hesitation. Through the scope, I saw the paintball hit Lulu-san’s arm as she aimed her gun at me.
—
In the end, the only person I hit was Lulu-san. The score was tied at 7 points each. I let out a big breath, stretched, and waited for the four to come back. Although all four returned together, Lulu-san was the first to walk up to me with big strides.
“Hey, hey, hey! You really did it, Lux!” (Lulu)
It was unclear if she was truly angry or just joking, but she approached me with an expression that showed no attempt to hide her frustration.
“Why did you target me? Why was I ‘targeted’!?” (Lulu)
Lulu-san, who had almost gotten in my face, was calmed down by Rita-san, who said, “Now, now”. Lulu-san swatted Rita-san’s hand away and said, “I’m not a cow!” but seemed to regain some composure and stepped back from me.
“But I also want to know. If you were to aim, wouldn’t it be safer to target Bianca or, at the very least, Saras?” (Rita)
The two whom Rita-san pointed out as “easier to aim at” were curious about the reason. Lamie-senpai was also interested.
I sighed slightly, saying it was unavoidable, and began to explain why I targeted Lulu-san, prefacing with, “This is just my thinking, so I’m not sure if it matches the actual movements”.
Firstly, it was clear that Bianca and Saras-senpai went to the back. Naturally, the two who were easier to target would secure a position at a longer distance, making sniping more challenging. Next, I was curious about the interval of the blank shots. From Lamie-senpai’s time, the blanks were almost at the interval of *bang*, *bang*,, *bang*,,,,, *bang*. The first two shots were without a pause. Then there was a brief pause and one shot. After that, there was a significant gap before the last one.
The first shot was either Rita-san or Lulu-san. The reason was that the places where the sounds were heard were front, back, back, front. Also, considering that the first shooter was likely to be targeted, it made sense to think it would be one of the two experienced instructors.
I thought Bianca was the first to react to the first blank shot, followed by Saras-senpai. This was in the order of urgency. So, I guessed the first shot was Rita-san. The one who shot last, delayed, was Lulu-san.
The reason was simple. Lulu-san seemed to prefer standing out rather than following up with the students. It even looked like she deliberately delayed the last shot to make it noticeable. It was like making a statement of “I’m here”.
Considering who would be the easiest target for me…
Bianca, having been hit by Lamie-senpai’s bullets and from our previous match, would be highly cautious. A wary small animal wouldn’t come out of its nest.
Rita-san, who was in the alley, had a wide range of movement and valued my skills highly. She was nimble and fast, like a cautious wild beast. Targeting her would be difficult.
Saras-senpai acknowledges my skills, and more importantly, recognized Lamie-senpai’s abilities. Therefore, the caution toward me, as selected by Lamie-senpai, wouldn’t be low. While not impossible to target, it required strategy to flush out.
The remaining one was Lulu-san. As a prey, she was undoubtedly a wild beast on par with Rita-san. However, she was the one who most “underestimated” me. Although she heard from Rita-san, she still showed some degree of relaxation. In fact, the locations where her blank shots sounded were the same for the second and third shots.
Even the most fearsome wild beast, if it’s not cautious, could be targeted.
I pretended to target Bianca as a bluff, and Lulu-san showed a slight relaxation in the latter half. “So, the target is Bianca after all”, she said. That was where I took advantage of.
“…So, this is the reason I targeted Lulu-san?” (Rita)
Rita-san, Lulu-san, Lamie-senpai, Saras-senpai, and Bianca, who had been listening silently, reacted.
“In such a short time… you thought all of this?” (Saras)
Saras-senpai’s voice was filled with astonishment.
“Well, I watched when Lamie-senpai was up, so being the second attacker gave me an advantage.” (Lux)
As I said this, a sneaky laugh was heard from somewhere, and it grew louder. The source of the voice was… Lamie-senpai.
“…Lamie?” (Saras)
Saras-senpai asked with concern. After laughing for a while and wiping the tears from her eyes, she said with a refreshed face, “I lost”.
“Huh? No, it’s a tie, right?” (Bianca)
“No, I’m sorry to Bianca, but if I borrow your words, the ‘class’ of the prey you took down is different. This is my loss.” (Lamie)
“Huh? But…” (Lux)
Just as I was about to say something, Lulu-san put her arm around my neck.
“Since Lamie says so, it means you won! You sniped me!” (Lulu)
She said with a laugh, and thus, I became the winner of this peculiar game.
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